The Blog of Columbus, Georgia

Monday, September 06, 2004

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for 7 SEP 04: STORMY MONDAY

It didn't take long Monday to see the impact of the approaching Tropical Storm Frances. A little after 9:00 a.m., I saw a man walking down Veterans Parkway with important provisions for the weather. He was carrying a 12-pack of Coors Light.

At Veterans and J.R. Allen Parkway, a makeshift sign pointed people to the "Hurricane Evacuation Route" - only the part with those words was partially tipped over. Was Lowe's out of nails, as well as plywood and generators?

(Which reminds me - why does the hurricane evacuation route lead people south through Columbus? Isn't Frances heading our way FROM the south? Did Uptown Columbus Inc. lobby for this?)

A short trip near Whitesville Road found sprigs of pine trees strewn across the asphalt. As cloudy as it was, you'd almost think it was the last week of December instead of the first Monday in September - and a few stores probably have Xmas decorations up already, anyway.

In parts of Columbus, outer bands from Tropical Storm Frances caused damage Monday. Pine trees broke and fell on a couple of mobile homes. At times like this, you wonder why those homes aren't REALLY mobile - with people moving them out of the way.

Several Red Cross shelters in Columbus and Phenix City have plenty of visitors from Florida. In fact, I hope the evacuees in Phenix City don't find out about Glenwood School - because they might sue for ripping off the "Gators" idea.

The approach of Frances caused so much concern that WRBL showed weather updates and radar maps on the screen for part of the day, instead of the phone number for the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. Hopefully viewers didn't become confused, and think Jerry Lewis was developing green splotches on his skin.

(So much for that station having a "First Alert." When the telethon ended, they joined a women's tennis match in progress - then went right into "Jeopardy!" at 7:00.)

If the weather experts are right, the center of Frances should come right over Columbus today. So don't be surprised to see Columbus State women's basketball coach Jay Sparks outside - because he loves to recruit new centers.

Several school districts decided NOT to have classes today. Americus schools are closed, as they were part of the day Friday - but at least the storm finally should put out that peanut fire once and for all.

I was a bit surprised to hear Valley and Chambers County schools are closed today. But then again, some people there probably can't wait for flooding - so they can go fishing on their front porches.

It became so breezy Monday afternoon that two little flags I put in my front porch mailbox for Labor Day blew around a bit. I put out both the U.S. and Canadian flags - but I'm sorry, I'm stubborn enough to refuse to spell labor with a "U."

(I should note I'm the only person in my complex who flies a flag on holidays such as Labor Day. Other residents think it's enough simply to put out the gas grill.)

My power flickered a couple of times Monday night - so that's why I'm posting this well before midnight. Here's hoping Georgia Power didn't send ALL its crews to Florida....

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